Day of the Daleks [4.7]

The Doctor and Jo are tinkering around with the TARDIS when they get a peculiar call-out. On the eve of a very important peace conference, leading diplomat Sir Reginald Styles has been subject to an attempted assassination. To make matters worse, this particular assassin was armed with a ray-gun and disappeared like a ghost.

The real villains, it turns out, come from the future, where the world has been invaded by the dreaded Daleks. Desperate and poorly-educated, a band of radical revolutionaries plot to change the course of history. By killing Styles, they hope to break the chain of events which would otherwise lead to inevitable Dalek conquest. But have they got the right end of the stick? With global tensions rising, the Doctor and Jo have to solve the mystery before World War Three erupts around them.

The Majesty

We have some excellent characters in this story. In particular, the Controller steals his every scene. His attempt to mediate between the Daleks and the humans; his oily, bullying, aristocratic manner; and his final redemption, all come together to make him one of the most sympathetic and charismatic villains of Pertwee's era.

Reginald Styles is also a joy to watch, and the interplay between the various revolutionaries works pretty well too. The UNIT regulars get a chance to shine, doing battle with the aliens while fending off the politicians and the press. And generally everybody seems to be on top form.

The version I watched had some new CGI elements added. (Was it a special anniversary edition, or something?) Normally I'd be a bit of a purist, but I think they add a huge amount of enjoyability to the action scenes! Great work!

The Misery

The Daleks live in a cupboard. Apart from one wandering around outside somewhere, the others only emerge for their final battle. I believe it was something to do with budget, and only having two or three Dalek props still in working order. But it's a bit of a lacklustre return for them after the explosive finale of Evil of the Daleks.

Magical Moments

• “How would you like to spend the night in a haunted house?” asks the Doctor. Jo's eyes say it all!
• But once they get there, the Doctor engages on a vast culinary detour. “One thing you can be certain of with politicians, is that whatever their political ideas, they always keep a well-stocked larder. Not to mention the cellar!” And two bites later, “I say, Jo, you really ought to try this Gorgonzola cheese. It's absolutely delicious.” And “A most civilised wine, one after my own heart.” And again “You know I remember saying to old Napoleon, 'Boney', I said, 'always remember, an army marches on its stomach'.”
• Even the soldiers get in on the action. Benton is about to eat what looks like a quiche before Yates comes along and nicks it from him, explaining himself to Jo only with “RHIP – Rank has its privileges”
• There is an excellent little scene with the Brigadier fielding four different telephone calls all at once. It perfectly conjures up the idea of a world in crisis.
• Despite all the emphasis from later doctors (and especially Jodie Whittaker) being anti-gun and anti-violence, the Doctor here seems quite happy blasting Ogrons with a ray gun he picked up. To be fair, he isn't a sharp-shooter, and needs the UNIT people to properly gun down the Ogron for him.
• The Doctor leaps on a futuristic quadbike and drives around hopelessly trying to evade the Ogrons. But is it just me, or has the bike got completely flat tires? Maybe the producers didn't fully trust Pertwee behind the wheel and wanted to be sure he couldn't go too fast!
• The Daleks tell the Doctor they have discovered time travel. Smugly, the Doctor just responds “You won't succeed, you know”. In the light of the later 'Time War' concept, and the devastation that time-travelling Daleks would create around the galaxy, gives the Doctor's quip more than a hint of irony and even hubris.
• The Doctor's final accusation to the guerrillas (“You did it yourselves”) is incredibly powerful, loaded with the guilt of near-planetary genocide.
• But surely the best line of the show goes to the Controller, seconds before his death. “Who knows. Perhaps I may have helped to exterminate you.”

In Summary

There have been a few stories up to this point which have played with the notion of time-travel as a plot device, but none that do it this stylishly. Usually the TARDIS is just a means of getting to the setting for the adventure. Here we have two timelines, with one contingent upon the other. No wonder we need a little preamble to set things up. (That scene, with two versions of the Doctor having a conversation, looks a bit lacklustre now, but must have been quite remarkable at the time.)

When you throw in all the essential elements of a Pertwee story - UNIT, vehicle chases, tirades against authority, Venusian karate, comedic asides and continual banter - you end up with a classic story. Despite the weakness of the Daleks themselves, there is more than enough going on to make this a brilliant watch from start to finish.

Overall: 4.7